Foldable hoisting apparatus for the loading and unloading of rails on railway trucks



Jan. 21, 1930. J. LEGRAND ET AL 1,7 v FOLDABLE HOISTING APPARATUS FOR THE LOADING AND UNLQADING OF RAILS ON RAILWAY TRUCKS Filed Jan. 1925 2 sheets-sheet l 49 i H i 20 l '0 l l c LJ Jan. 21, 1930. Y J. LEGRAND ET AL ,392

' FOLDABLE HOISTING APPARATUS FOR THE LOADING AND UNLOADING 0F RAILS ON RAILWAY TRUCKS 3 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan.

Patented Jan. 21, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlC'E JULES LEGRAND, OF s TwMANDE, AND PAUL- GUILIBEBT, OF ROUEN, FRANCE FOLDABLE HOIS'I'ING APPARATUS FOR THE LOADING AND UNLOADING F RAILS ON RAILWAY TRUCKS Application filed January 3, 1925, Serial No. 353, and in France January 3, 1924.

This invention relates to a hoisting apparatus which is pliable, of very light weight, and adapted to be rapidly and easily mounted upon railway trucks for the loading and unloading of rails.

Two embodiments of the invention are shown, by way of example, on the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 shows in elevation a form of construction of the hoisting apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows in detail a support for the fixed uprights.

Fig. 4 shows the corresponding end of an abutment arm.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a fixed upright, and

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the movable uprights 0r racks.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 6 a girder 1 is suspended at one of its ends in a support 2 formed. at the upper end of an upright 3 inserted into one of the stake pockets of the truck or in a special fixing piece 4- adapted to be rapidly hooked on the truck.

The connection between the girder 1 and the upright 3 is ensured by means of rest 5 fixed on said girder and hingedly connected by means of a bolt 6 to the upper end of said upright This rest has the shape shown in Fig. 3 and it comprises above the hole traversed by bolt 6 a riveted axle 7 on which the lower end of an abutment arm 8 is pivotally mounted. This lower end of the abutment arm 8 has a head 9 having a hole 10 which may register either with the hole for the bolt 6 when the arm 8 is lowered horizontally upon the girder 1 or with the hole 11 of the rest 5 when the arm is vertically lifted. The head 9 has further a nose-shaped extension 9 standing opposite the hole for the bolt 6 when the arm 8 is lifted. From this arrangement re-.

sults that the girder 1 can be attached to the upright 3 only when the arm 8 is lowered upon the girder as only in this position the hole 10 registers with the hole for the connecting bolt 6 so that this bolt can be inserted.

One rest 5 of the type described with safety arm is mounted at each end of the girder 1 so that the upright 3 supporting the girder may be arranged either at the one end or at the other end of the girder.

On the upper surface of the girder 1 a support 152 in the form of a traverse is mounted which embraces the upper flange of the girder 1 and is adapted to slide upon this flange. In the ends of this support-traverse 12 two racks 13, 13 are held and guided one at each side of the girder 1 and controlled by two pinions 14:, 14 mounted upon the same horizontal axle 15 carried by said support and having a crank handle 16 and a locking pawl 17. By means of the crank handle 16 the racks 13, 13 can be raised and lowered at will so that the girder can be lowered to rest upon any desired point of the floor of the truck, the support-traverse 12 which carries the racks being adapted to he slipped along the girder 1.

The support-traverse 12 can however not be brought too close to the upright 3 whereby the unsupported length of the girder 1 might become toogreat. This is prevented by the abutment 8 formed by the end of arm 8 which must be lowered upon the girder 1 so that this girder might be mounted upon the upright.

On the lower flange of girder 1 rolls the crab 18 with pulley blocks controlled by a crank handle and carrying at the end of its hoisting chain 19 the special gripping tongues 20.

Two or three girders constructed and arranged as described above are mounted transversely on the truck parallel the one to the other and these girders as a whole are united by staying cables placed in hooks 21, said cables uniting the girders and being further attached to the ends of the truck.

Each end of each girder 1 can further be connected by a shackle 22 and by a cable 23 having a stretcher 2% to the frame of the truck in order to ensure the horizontal posi tion of the girder when the racks are being raised or lowered, the crab being during this operation brought quite close to the upright.

The operation is as follows For loading a truck with rails the apparatus is mounted according to the indications in full lines in Fig. 1, e. the racks are placed near the middle of the width of the truck against the abutment 8 and the rails,

are raised from the ground with the aid of crab 18 and placed, in the example shown, on the left hand side of the truck. When the convenient number of rails have been loaded on the left hand side of the truck the rac {S are brought into the position 13 shown in dash lines so that these rails can be brought over to the right hand part of the truck whereupon, the racks having been moved to the middle, the left hand part of the truck can be loaded.

When the rails to be loaded were at the right of the truck the upright would have to be fixed at the left and the loading would have to be done from the right in a similar man ner as described for the loading from the left.

The unloading of the rails is carried out in inverse succession as the loading. As the rails loaded on a truck are generally unloaded one set to the right and another set to the left the truck has for each girder an auxiliary upright so that when a set of rails has to be unloaded at the opposite side as the preceding set of rails an auxiliary upright is mounted on the free end of the girder whereupon the upright at the other end of the girder is removed.

The loading and unloading of the rails is thus ensured by very simple manipulations carried out by a few men without any danger for the same.

The apparatus can be easily taken to pieces and stored on the truck to be conveyed to the point for loading or unloading.

We claim 1. A foldable apparatus for loading and unloading rails on railway trucks, comprising in combination uprights designed to be fixed on one of the sides of the truck, a girder mounted at the upper part of each upright, double supports adapted to be shifted along each girder, two racks vertically mounted in each double support adapted to bear on said truck or on the rails loaded on said truck to support said girder, a pinion meshing with each rack, a crank handle for lifting and lowering each of said racks, a travelling crab on said girder, and tongs for gripping and depositing said rails.

2. A foldable apparatus for loading and unloading rails on railway trucks, comprising in combination uprights designed to be fixed on one of the sides of the truck, a girder mounted at the upper part of each upright, means for connecting said girder to one of said uprights and to maintain the uprights horizontal position, double supports adapted to be shifted along each girder a rest on said girder, two racks vertically mounted in each double support adapted to bear on said truck or on the rails loaded on said truck to support said girder, an abutment arm pivotally connected with said rest and connecting said girder to said upright and which if lowtures.

JULES LEGRAND. PAUL GUILBERT. 

